Healthy Kids, Healthy America: Preventing Childhood Obesity in
Louisiana Schools and Communities
Pam Romero Louisiana Council on Obesity Prevention & Management
Denise HolstonLSU AgCenter
Impacting Obesity
“Greater likelihood of success when public, private, and voluntary organizations manage their
strengths to ensure coordinated and sustained long term effort”
Louisiana School Based Health Centers 2007-2008 Data
12,000 children (2-19 yrs old)
46.53% overweight or obese
Why does this matter?
Poor nutrition/health is linked to poor academic performance
Children diagnosed with adult diseases At risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes
and heart disease
Overweight children are 80% likely to be overweight or obese as an adult
Louisiana Council on Obesity Prevention & Management
Created by state legislation 1999
Mission“To promote an environment that supports opportunities for all Louisiana residents to make healthy food choices and to be physically active in order to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.”
National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices
Healthy Kids, Healthy America Program
Provided Governors opportunity and means to make progress in addressing childhood obesity Supported by Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation and CDC
Louisiana one of 15 states to receive grant
School Wellness Policy Implementation Project
Avenue to increase healthy eating and physical activity in schools and
communities.
Project TeamLouisiana Council on Obesity Prevention & ManagementLouisiana Dept of Health & Hospitals’ Nutrition Section
Louisiana Dept of EducationLSU Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter)
Governor’s Office
School Wellness Policy
Child Nutrition & WIC Reauthorization Act, 2004 Requires school districts participating in
National School Meals Program to implement a Local Wellness Policy
Involves input from parents, students, school administrators, local school board, school food service representatives
Builds on existing state policies, laws and activities
School Wellness Policy Implementation Project
Phase 1: Information Gathering
Principal Survey Public elementary & middle schools Invitation to participate Administered by LSU Public Policy Research Lab Survey designed to better understand the status
of school wellness policy implementation 412 completed surveys (44% response rate) Access full report on LA Obesity Council website
or pick up a copy of the summary
Key Findings
See wellness policy primarily in terms of physical education and improving physical fitness of students and meeting federal requirements.
Less emphasis on providing students with nutritional information.
Key Findings
Believe they need support from parents, the school administration, teachers and students.
See school wellness policy implementation as internal school activities.
Elementary & middle school principals report limited progress in implementing local school wellness policy. 8% met all 5 minimum requirements 3% exceeded requirements
Identified Need
Increase local capacity to advance the level of implementation of the School Wellness Policy
Focus Group Discussions (FGD)
Objective:
To gather information on the successes and barriers to school wellness policy development and implementation in elementary and middle schools in Louisiana at the district and local levels
Methods
2 FGD were conducted in each of the 5 School Foodservice Regions (10 total) Development Implementation
LSU AgCenter Extension Agents served as moderators
Key Findings
Successes
Support from administration An active, representative School
Wellness Policy committee Multi-channel communication to all
Key Findings
Most participants reported using community-based programs and/or online resources to facilitate Wellness Policy development and implementation
Challenges
Who’s in charge? Increasing
knowledge and awareness of the Wellness Policy
Time to monitor implementation at the school level
Phase 2: Action Plan Guide Development
Phase 3: Action Plan Guide Distribution
The School Wellness Action Plan Guide will be updated annually and available online.
Continuation of project:
What can you do?
Learn about the extent of School Wellness Policies in your local schools “adopt a school—get involved”
Support formation of local School Health Advisory Councils
Join LA Action for Healthy Kids Team in your region (www.actionforhealthykids.org)
AFHK Membership Regions
Acadia
Allen
Ascension
Assum
ption
Avoyelles
Beauregard
Bienville
Bossier
Caddo
Calcasieu
Caldwell
Cameron
Catahoula
Claiborne
Concord
ia
DeSoto
E. BatonRouge
Evangeline
Franklin
Grant
Iberia
Iberville
Jackson
Jefferson
JeffersonDavis
Lafayette
Lafourche
La Salle
Lincoln
Livingston
Madison
Morehouse
Natchitoches
Orleans
Ouachita
Plaquemines
Rapides
RedRiver
Richland
Sabine
St. BernardSt.Charles
St.Helena
St.James
St.John
St. Landry
St. Martin
St. Martin
St. Mary
St. Tammany
Tangip
ahoa
Tensas
Terrebonne
Union
Vermilion
Vernon
Washington
Webster
WBR
Wes
tCar
roll
WestFeliciana
Winn
PointeCoupee
East
Carro
ll
EastFeliciana
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
www.actionforhealthykids.org
Questions
